Campaign to sign up uninsured targets Cape

Oct. 24--HYANNIS -- Health insurance coverage is not on the menu at two Main Street restaurants, but notices asking uninsured people to sign up for coverage are on full display.

Officials from the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands joined Massachusetts Health Connector spokesman Jason Lefferts on Tuesday in posting the notices at the Brazilian Grill and Anejo Mexican Bistro.

The goal was to get more people to sign up for plans offered under the connector, including subsidized ConnectorCare plans, during open enrollment beginning Nov. 1.

Massachusetts Health Connector official are traveling across the state as part of their #StayCovered campaign, but they have a particular interest in Barnstable County.

"The Cape has a higher rate of uninsured than the rest of the state," Lefferts said.

Massachusetts overall has the highest rate of insured residents in the nation, at 97 percent, Lefferts said.

But on the Cape 5.7 percent of residents are uninsured -- up from 2.5 percent in 2015, he said.

Part of the issue is a steady influx of people moving on and off the Cape, said Caronanne Procaccini, director of client self-sufficiency for the Community Action Committee.

"We deal with a population that often becomes inactive for whatever reason" and falls off the insurance rolls, Procaccini said.

People's hours change because of seasonal employment, layoffs and the economic swings of self-employment, and they do not always keep up with requests to report their income, she said.

That's where Community Action comes in, she said.

The nonprofit organization has three health care enrollment specialists called navigators who have been trained by the Massachusetts Health Connector to sign people up for the most comprehensive, most affordable plans, including renewals, Procaccini said.

People enrolling in non-group health plans may call Community Action for a phone consultation or to schedule an appointment if they need help navigating the connector or want additional information, she said.

The agency is enrolling more than 200 people every month, she said.

During the open enrollment period of Nov. 1 to Jan. 23, Community Action also will be sending navigators to other locations, including the Lower Cape Outreach Council, Falmouth Service Center, Falmouth Human Services Department and the Community Health Center of Cape Cod in Mashpee, Procaccini said.

Applicants have to pay for new plans by Dec. 23 to have coverage start by Jan. 1, Massachusetts Health Connector officials said.

Massachusetts residents should be aware that while the federal mandate for health coverage runs out in 2018, the state still requires residents to have coverage or face a tax penalty, Lefferts said.

Of the 260,000 individuals enrolled in health insurance plans through the Massachusetts Health Connector, 200,000 are enrolled in subsidized ConnectorCare plans with low or no premiums, low co-payments and no deductibles, he said.

ConnectorCare covers people who earn up to three times the federal poverty level but do not qualify for MassHealth or Medicare or have access to affordable workplace insurance, according to Massachusetts Legal Services.

The federal poverty level this year for a family of four is $25,100.

ConnectorCare premiums were basically unaffected last year by the White House's dropping Affordable Care Act subsidies for insurance carriers, Lefferts said.

The cost instead was passed on to people covered by unsubsidized Health Connector plans, also offered through the Massachusetts Health Connector, whose premiums went up 20 percent, he said.

Some Health Connector clients left the program and found a better deal by buying coverage directly from health plans, Lefferts said.

"A lot of those people moved out of those plans," he said.

"This year the increases are about 5 percent" for people on unsubsidized Health Connector plans, Lefferts said. "We always encourage people to shop."

The Fishing Partnership in Chatham also uses navigators trained through the Massachusetts Health Connector, while the Cape's community health centers have enrollment help available through MassHealth certified application counselors, Procaccini and Lefferts said.

Connector-trained navigators also enroll people in MassHealth when appropriate, they said.

To make an appointment with a navigator through the Community Action Committee, call 508-771-1727 or come to the office at 372 North St.

-- Follow Cynthia McCormick on Twitter: @Cmccormickcct.

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